ARE YOU PART OF THE PROBLEM OR PART OF THE SOLUTION? How often have you had a great idea and wanted your voice heard when it comes to the good of the parish? How often have you been more inclined to criticize than to create? The opportunity to become a part of the solution rather than part of the problem is here! Consider running for the Parish Council and make a difference. Christ is calling you . . . will you answer the call? Nominations of candidates will be taken through the November 19, 2006 General Assembly and Elections will be held November 26, 2006. Candidate Petition Forms are available in this issue of The Familian or the Church Office for interested individuals prepared to make this sacred commitment!

MAKING HISTORY BALL Invitations have been mailed and responses are coming in for Holy Trinity’s annual dinner dance. As we begin our second hundred years of history, this year’s gala is being touted as the MAKING HISTORY BALL and will held on Sunday, November 5, 2006, at the Westin Hotel in Millbrae. As this is our parish’s chief fundraiser we are asking all of our parishioners and friends to join in what promises to be a joyous evening of sumptuous food, fellowship and dancing to the music of the incredible band FOTIA!

CHRISTMAS LENT Before Christmas, as before Easter, there is a lengthy and elaborate period of preparation. Christmas is preceded by a fast corresponding to Great & Holy Lent, lasting forty days (November 15 to December 24). As Orthodox Christians, we are called to use this gift of time as an occasion to seriously reflect on the coming of our Savior through intensified prayer, fasting, reading of Holy Scripture, charitable acts and, of course, being present and actively participating in the divine services. It is an appropriate time to come to confession. I highly recommend Fr. Thomas Hopko’s collection of 40 Christmas Lenten meditations entitled The Winter Pascha (St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press) as uplifting reading for the season. If you are interested in obtaining a copy, contact the John Skinas or the Church Office to place an order. Organizations of the Church planning meetings or functions during this period are asked to keep such gatherings in the spirit of the fast and to clear them with Fr. Michael before informing their members.

PREMARITAL SEMINAR As a prerequisite for marriage in the Metropolis of San Francisco, couples petitioning to marry in the Church are required to successfully complete premarital counseling at the parish in which they are to be married. A premarital seminar led by Fr. Michael will be held in the Conference Room of the Church Fellowship Hall at 7:00pm on Thursday, November 16, 2006. In addition to the course of study, this important initial session will review a checklist of key expectations of the church needing to be addressed prior to the wedding as well as protocols for the wedding day.

O GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD FOR HE IS GOOD! If you think about it, the word Eucharist, another term for the Divine Liturgy, literally translated means the Good Gift or Thanksgiving. Inasmuch as we give thanks to the Lord at each Divine Liturgy for the Good Gift, our nation sets aside one day in particular in order to thank God for the multitude of blessings He showers upon our great country. That day is the holiday we have come to call Thanksgiving and falls on the fourth Thursday in November. Before sitting down at the dinner table to feast with our families, let us come together at God’s Holy Table with our brothers and sisters of the faith and show our thanksgiving to the Giver of every good and perfect gift, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This year, a Vesperal Divine Liturgy will be offered on the eve of Thanksgiving, Wednesday, November 22nd and will begin promptly at 7:00pm. Those wishing to receive Holy Communion should abstain from eating prior to the noon hour. Fr. Michael will be representing His Eminence at an Interfaith Thanksgiving Service at Grace Cathedral at 10:00am on Thanksgiving day.